Portal:English football

The English Football Portal

The England national football team playing at Wembley.

Football is the most popular sport in England. Widely regarded as the birthplace of modern football, the first official rules of the game were established in England in 1863. The country is home to the world's first football league, the oldest national governing body, and the oldest national knockout competition. With over 40,000 football clubs, England has more teams involved in the sport than any other country. The world's first football club, Sheffield F.C., and the oldest professional club, Notts County, were both founded in England.

The influence of the British Empire helped spread football across the globe, shaping the development of the modern Laws of the Game. England's domestic football scene remains one of the strongest in the world, with the Premier League ranking among the richest and most popular leagues globally. As of 2024, five of the ten richest football clubs were English. Football remains deeply ingrained in English culture, with 31% of the population expressing an interest in the sport. (Full article...)

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Manchester City Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Manchester. Originally formed in 1880 as "St. Marks (West Gorton)", they then became "Ardwick A.F.C." in 1887 before changing their name to Manchester City F.C. in 1894.

The club has won the League Championship eight times, the FA Cup five times, the League Cup eight times, and the European Cup Winners Cup once. After gaining significant financial investment both in playing staff and facilities following its takeover by Sheikh Mansour through the Abu Dhabi Group in 2008, City began to obtain unprecedented success. Currently managed by Pep Guardiola, they have won four of the past five league titles, breaking multiple records during that time, as well as being the first team to achieve 100 points in a top flight season in 2018. The club's most successful period before that though was during the late 1960s and early 1970s, when they won several major trophies under the management team of Joe Mercer and his assistant Malcolm Allison, and with players such as Colin Bell and Francis Lee.

Manchester City's biggest rivalry is with neighbours Manchester United, against whom they contest the Manchester derby.

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Did you know...

...that a steam-powered portable engine (pictured) drove the dynamo for the first floodlit football match in the UK in 1878?

...that Sheffield Wednesday Ladies F.C. were formed at the Star Inn public house in Rotherham in 1971 following a charity match between men and women at the pub?

...that Tommy Sale scored 282 goals during 14 years at the English Football club Stoke City F.C.?

...that footballer Billy Mosforth was a leading exponent of the screw shot, which allows players to bend the ball's trajectory?

...that Bradford City Football Club blamed their FA Cup exit in the 1919–20 season on a pre-game trip to Fry's chocolate works?

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The Premier League (officially known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons, colloquially known as The Premiership), is an English professional league for football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. The Premier League is currently contested by 20 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 38 games each.

The competition formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 and the first games were played on 15 August that year, following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from The Football League to take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal; The Football League had served as England and Wales' primary football competition since 1888.

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Credit: Flickr user stella_gonzales2003

Manchester City's Michael Johnson takes a corner kick during a match in the Premier League. The corner kick was devised in 1867 under the Sheffield Rules, and is awarded to the attacking team when the ball leaves the field of play by crossing the goal line, either on the ground or in the air, having been last touched by a defending player.

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